Why shouldn we let people buy better health care if they can afford it?
PNHP correctly points out that, whenever we allow the wealthy to buy better care or jump the queue, health care for the rest of us suffers (same with education and private schools). One need only look at the example of the nation’s health insurance program for the poor, versus the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, that serves members of Congress. Access to care for the poor is deteriorating because Medicaid is a grossly underfunded health care program. Because it doesn’t serve the wealthy, the payment rates are low and many physicians refuse to see Medicaid patients. D.C. General Hospital in D.C., which serves the poor, is always on the brink of bankruptcy. Calls to improve Medicaid fall on deaf ears because the beneficiaries are not considered to be politically important. On the other hand, members of Congress have completely free access to care at National Naval, where the quality of care couldn’t be better. Although HMOs are allowed under single-payer, they can only be
